


We'll Cross Paths Again

by SevereLove51



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rekindled love, Steve is bad with feelings, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, high school sweethearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21975538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevereLove51/pseuds/SevereLove51
Summary: Tony Stark is a successful businessman after he inherited his father’s business. He is invited to a masquerade party hosted by Justin Hammer. At the party, he notice that the bartender looks oddly similar to his old high school sweetheart that broke his heart.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 148
Collections: 2019 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	We'll Cross Paths Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ohjustpeachy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustpeachy/gifts).



> For the 2019 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange. It's inspired by this gifset by Cleve98: https://cleve98.tumblr.com/post/188289039970/steve

_ Maybe one day… we’ll cross paths again _

Tony Stark entered the banquet venue. His attire, a black suit and a grey mask that resembled an iron maiden, aligned perfectly with the masquerade theme. He scanned the scene, hoping and dreading to spot anyone he recognized. He knew Rhodey was invited, but considering who invited them, he wasn’t a 100% certain his friend was in the crowd. 

The pumping electronic music, however, did not match the elegant theme of the party. He’s not surprised by the music choice because this  _ is _ Justin Hammer’s party and Hammer has the worst taste in everything. 

He waded through the sea of masked guests. Some of the masks he could tell were obviously brought from a Halloween store for less than a dollar, though there were a few masks that seemed to be crafted by the guests. Through the crowd, he spotted the bar. _‘_ _Ah,_ _perfect!’_ he thought. A little bit of alcohol will bring out the fun in him. 

As he approached the counter, he felt all the air in his lungs disappear. The bartender, he looked…no, he couldn’t, but there was that possibility that the bartender is who Tony think he is. His body moved forward despite the growing pit in his stomach. He sat down, the bartender’s back facing him. His heart hammered against his chest as he watched the man make one of the guests's drink.

Tony raised his hand. “Martini, two olives.” 

“Martini, two olives, coming up,” the bartender responded. The bartender didn’t make eye contact with Tony, but Tony did catch a glimpse of the man. Blonde hair, the same facial shape, the same cheeky grin he fell in love with. 

He drew in a sharp breath. “ _Fuck_ .” 

The bartender passed him his drink. Tony’s heart drop. It’s  _him_ . He’s thankful for this ugly mask on his face. 

The man stared at Tony, blue eyes staring at brown. His hand still had a grip on the glass and Tony believes the man can see right through the mask. 

Oh...

Tony cleared his throat. “Put it on my tab.”

The man nodded, finally,  _ finally _ releasing his grip from the glass stem, but there’s hesitation in the man's movement. The man frowned. 

“Tony?” 

Tony swallowed. “Yes?”

The bartender is taken aback. “Tony Stark?” 

“Yeah…”

The previous look of confusion is replaced with a warm smile and a sparkle in his eyes. “How have you been, Tony?”

He chewed his lips. Slowly, he removed his mask and set it down on the bar counter. He got a good look at Steve, a really good look of his old high school sweetheart. Steve looked different than he did twenty years ago. The small lanky sickly boy he knew back in senior year was no more. Instead, Steve’s taller, has muscles and doesn’t look like one sneeze would kill him. 

“Uh, good,” Tony managed to push out. He eyed his drink. He couldn’t stand holding eye contact with Steve. “Very good actually. I just, um, in business. Actually, I got a sale this morning so I’m here to celebrate.” 

“I always knew you’d become a successful businessman.” 

Tony twitched at his words. He wanted to puke, he wanted to hurl so many insults at Steve, but he drank his martini instead to stop himself. 

He set his drink down. His eyes shot up to Steve. “How have you been…” his voice trailed off. He pretended to forget his name. “Steve?”

Steve’s blue eyes widen slightly, hurt written all over his face. Good, he wanted it to hurt. 

“Good. I’m good. I do graphic design for whatever company needs it. I like to bartend on the side, doesn’t hurt to have extra money,” Steve told him. 

Tony nodded nonchalantly. He continued to sip his drink. Steve disappeared for a moment to tend to another customer. As he was gone, Tony’s mind raced. Out of everyone in the party he could have met, he met Steve fucking Rogers. Honestly, Tony believed he would never see Steve again, especially after they graduated high school. 

_ “ Maybe one day… we’ll cross paths again” _

Those were Steve’s last words ever uttered to Tony. It happened the night after graduation. They decided to have a celebratory dinner with just the two of them. Tony was moving to M.I.T. while Steve was headed to the military. That night, Tony handed Steve his dorm address and- 

Tony closed his eyes. The memory is too painful to dig back up and it flared up anger in him. Steve returned a few minutes later. 

“Uh, Tony,” Steve started. Tony opened his eyes. “If you’re not doing anything afterwards, do you want to hang out? I can bring free drinks.” 

“No!” Tony exclaimed. “I-I gotta look for a friend, not sure if he wants to do something after the party.” 

“Oh, that’s fine.” There’s that hurt voice again. 

Tony tried to walk away, he really tried, but regret clouded his mind. Deep down he still felt something for Steve despite the pain he unknowingly put him through. He cursed under his breath and turned around. 

“Wait-“ Tony caught Steve’s attention. He sighed, disappointed at himself for not turning away. “What time were you thinking?”

“My shift ends in a hour.” 

“I’ll meet you back here in a hour then.” 

Steve smiled. “Great.”

“Great,” Tony repeated. He grabbed his mask and hid his flushed face behind the plastic mask. 

* * *

A hour later, Tony met Steve at the counter bar. Steve guided him to the back door. They sat on the outside stairs that lead to an alleyway. Steve did keep his promise on his drinks. He handed Tony another martini while Steve had a soda in his hand. Even in high school, Tony could never imagine Steve drinking alcohol. He also never imagine Steve being incapable of writing back either and not know how to end a relationship properly. 

Tony sipped from his glass, shoving down the malicious thought deep into his mind. He set the glass on the ground and he noticed Steve did the same. Tony couldn’t find the words to talk to Steve; every thought would cross his mind then die when he tried to speak. The anger inside him simmered and would boil whenever he looked at Steve. He wanted Steve to acknowledge what he did and explained why he did it. Did he feel any remorse or had a legit excuse? Actually, Tony didn’t want to hear his excuse because any concocted excuse Steve has does not make up for what emotional pain he put him into. There’s a sour taste in his mouth and he reached out to take another sip to calm himself down. 

Steve broke the silence between them. 

“This is where I like to go on my breaks,” Steve started. “I just sit outside and draw.”

Tony squeezed the glass stem. “You have always been good at drawing,” Tony noted. 

“Thanks.” Steve flashed him a grin and it irked Tony. “Business, huh? You finally took over your father’s company?”

“Yeah, it was all over the news,” Tony shot back, his anger nearly at its boiling point. 

“I don’t watch tv.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “How convenient.” 

“Tony, are you upset with me?” 

“ _ Don’t _ !” Tony snapped. He drew in a sharp breath, hand up to stop Steve. “Don’t-Don’t do that.”

_ Pain.  _ Those blue eyes is staring at him with so much pain and is wondering where all this anger is coming from. “Tony-“

“Stop, you make it hard to be mad at you when you do this.”

“What exactly am I doing?” 

“Your eyes, your voice, every time we argue you try to draw out sympathy for your side,” Tony explained. 

For a moment, Steve is lost at words. His jaw is tighten and Tony is fortunate that for  once , Steve doesn’t have witty comeback. Steve had to look away from Tony, his face tainted red with embarrassment and heart heavy with shame. 

“I…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. “I…never realized I did that.” 

“Why did you never contact me?” Tony asked. “I gave you the address to my dorm room. Even the number that you could call to connect with me, but no, you never bothered or I doubt you even tried, did you?” Steve wasn’t looking at him. Tony’s anger lashed out. “Look at me, dammit!”

Steve flinched. He moved his head to face Tony, but his eyes refused to meet Tony’s. “I…” He sighed, he finally looked at Tony. “I didn’t want to embarrass you.” 

Tony scoffed. “Is that really the reason? You couldn’t write a letter or have said that before I left?” 

“I know. I should have said something instead of leaving you in the dust like that.”

“Yeah, you should have,” he spat with venom laced in his voice. 

“Listen, I- I didn’t want to embarrass you with our relationship,” Steve admitted. “Tony, you’re  the Tony Stark and I’m…me a nobody-“

“You were --  _ are _ somebody to me.” 

“You went to M.I.T., I was afraid they would find out that you were dating me, a man.” 

“Jesus, Steve, half of the people in college are gay, it wouldn’t have mattered!” 

Steve froze, his lips pressed to a thin line. Another sigh left the man’s lips and he started to speak. “When I joined the military, I was afraid if they had found out… I didn’t care if I was kicked out, but I did worry it would reflect badly on you. Someone might blackmail you with it and ruin your life, I-“ His breath hitched and now he’s staring directly at Tony with sorrowful eyes. “I’m sorry, I broke your heart. I put you through so much pain, haven’t I? I’m a terrible person for doing that to you and all you’ve been was a great boyfriend to me. Can you forgive me?” 

Tony didn’t realize Steve is squeezing his hand. He tore his gaze from Steve, eyes now gazing at their hands. The anger in him diminished. After twenty years of suppressed emotional anguish and agonizing whys he asked himself whenever Steve crossed his mind, he finally has closure. Steve finally had the guts to apologize to him and the apology is genuine yet Tony felt conflicted. Their hands are still touching and it reminded Tony of them walking down the hallways, hand in hand, and neither of them cared who had an issue with their relationship. 

_ “ Maybe one day… we’ll cross paths again” _

The words played in Tony's mind, the last thing Steve said to him and he was right. They did cross paths again at the party. Maybe this is a sign from the universe, maybe Steve  is  his universe. His heart raced. His face warm up. He shut his eyes, sighed then lightly squeezed Steve’s hand. 

Tony reopened his eyes and stared back at Steve. “I…” he stopped. He cursed. “Dammit.” He ripped his hand from Steve’s and grabbed Steve’s face, which bewildered Steve. “I hate you for this.” 

Tony pulled Steve into a kiss. Steve kissed back, his lips just as soft as he remembered. Twenty years of anguish now gone with a kiss. They both smiled into the kiss as they are both brought back to their high school days and are reminded of each agonizing year that went without the other. Their lips parted and their foreheads are pressed together, both men breathing heavily. 

“I miss you so much,” Steve whispered, caressing Tony’s cheek. 

Tony closed his eyes and embraced Steve’s touch. “I miss you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this kind of portrays Tony as a bad person, but I believe his anger towards Steve is justifiable since he was ghosted by him for like 20 years.  
> Also I love angry Tony.


End file.
